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Jazz Articles about Brent Jarvis
Brent Jarvis: Dragonfly
by Jack Bowers
As a composer, Canadian pianist Brent Jarvis' ear is irrestibly drawn to harmonies and rhythms from well south of his usual orbit; more spefically, to the island of Cuba, from where Jarvis draws the lion's share of his inspiration for Dragonfly, his sixth recording as solo pianist or leader of a group. On this studio date, Jarvis supervises a rhythmically fine-tuned sextet, one of whose members is percussionist Jose Sanchez, and another of whom--trumpeter Miguelito Valdes--plays congas, ...
Continue ReadingNoah Becker: Mode for Noah
by Jack Bowers
Alto saxophonist Noah Becker guides a splendid trio of western Canadian sidemen through their paces on Mode for Noah, which consists of seven of his original compositions. Becker's music is glossy and well-balanced, as are his solos, which, to his credit, do not quickly bring to mind any of his contemporaries. He plays mostly without vibrato, like Lee Konitz or Paul Desmond, among others, but without their singular voice or peerless artistry. Becker is simply quite good ...
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